The 'Guardians of the Galaxy' Soundtrack Just Set a Very Cool Record

According to Billboard, the Guardians of the Galaxy soundtrack, dubbed Awesome Mix Vol. 1 by writer and director James Gunn, has hit the number one spot on the Billboard 200. The album joins Frozen in the ranks of soundtracks to top the charts in 2014. Even more astounding is that the number one album made its mark as the first soundtrack entirely composed of previously released songs — in this case, music that was released during the 1960s and ’70s (most of them chart toppers on the Billboard Hot 100).

The Jackson 5, The Runaways, David Bowie and Marvin Gaye are just a few of the famous artists who appear on a mixtape in Peter Quill/Star-Lord’s Walkman, given to him by his late mother. Gunn spoke to Vulture about choosing his soundscape for the film:

I started the process by reading the Billboard charts for all of the top hits of the '70s. I downloaded a few hundred songs, and from that made an iTunes playlist of about 120 songs, which fit the movie tonally. I would listen to the playlist on my speakers around the house — sometimes I would be inspired to create a scene around a song, and other times I had a scene that needed music and I would listen through the playlist, visualizing various songs, figuring out which would work the best.

Spoiler alert: We’ll have to stay tuned to the Guardians sequel for a peek at Awesome Mix Vol. 2, teased at the end of the movie. We’re sure the soundtrack will be equally pleasing to the ears.

Movies.com, the ultimate source for everything movies, is your destination for new movie trailers, reviews, photos, times, tickets + more! Stay in the know with the latest movie news and cast interviews at Movies.com.